Oh yeah, you got it! We're leaving Saturday morning! Although, I'll admit that it's not because we got a confirmed embassy date for April 14 though. :-( We DID get updated medicals on the kiddos this morning, and current health concerns with our poor little Ezra has us determined to GET TO THEM! He is said to being doing well right now, but has been dealing with some very serious issues, much more than the cold/respiratory stuff we knew he had going on. So, Ezra and Olivia, here we come!
I can't tell you how surreal, or unbelievable it is that we ARE leaving in less than 2 days! We are mostly ready... and definitely have plenty left to do. Last minute shopping (need a couple of camcorder batteries and more DVD's for it), gifts for key people in Ethiopia, like our guide, the attorney, and people at the care center. Our duffel bag that's filled with donations is packed to the gills, but DOES weigh in right at 50 lbs. The only problem is it's a bit larger than the size/measurement allowance... so we may get hit with an oversized bag fee. I'm trying to figure out how to cinch it down small enough to fit. :-)
So, wish us luck in the craziness of the next two days, and keep your prayers and thoughts with Olivia and Ezra... especially Ezra right now. On a positive note, our little peanuts are still getting bigger! They're now at 10.5 pounds (Olivia) and 11.8 pounds (Ezra)!!! They've grown SOOOO much since January!
With love and appreciation to you all...
Jesi
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
When will our embassy date be?!
Ok, so I owe an update! Thanks for hanging in there and praying for us and thinking about us. This has truly been a struggle (and remember, I am NOT a patient person!). The last couple of weeks have been increasingly difficult. We are so ready to get our hands on Ezra and Olivia. This is the story in a nutshell:
We were told our embassy date would be 3 or 4 weeks after court - meaning April 7 or April 14 (our agency has embassy appointments on a Monday). We waited and waited for news. After a number of discussions with our agency, I finally decided I needed to get our tickets, and since we're staying an extra bit of time in country, it would overlap either possible date, but be centered around the idea of having a later embassy date. Well, shortly after getting our tickets, we found out our embassy date would actually probably need to be on April 21. Yeah, lovely. Another week of just leaving Ezra & Olivia without their mommy and daddy. Soooo not something easy to think about. But, to make matters worse, we also have a really difficult family matter we're dealing with that makes it all the more important to us to be home sooner than later. Sorry... can't blog about it, but I appreciate the support I know you're all feeling anyway! ;-)
Soooooooooo, it's boiling down to giving up and going with the April 21 embassy date, or potentially just leaving for Ethiopia early Saturday morning and hoping, praying, crossing fingers and toes for the best. Worst case scenario we'd be with the kids, but have to spend an extra week in country. Not the best or most affordable option... but we'd all be together and that's super important to us. Just to keep you all REALLY in the loop, as of about an hour ago, hubby and I "pretty much" decided we'll leave Saturday. We just need to work out some kinks with work (you know... gotta earn a living and figure out how to wiggle in an extra unpaid week or something), then we can commit. Maybe we're nuts, who knows. At this stage in the process, that's completely possible. Heck, after this roller coaster ride waiting for an embassy date, I'd say it's highly probable! :-D
Stay tuned... and keep on praying, crossing toes, fingers, arms, legs, and ears, doing the April 14 embassy date dance... whatever you can! We reallllllllyyyyy appreciate it!
We were told our embassy date would be 3 or 4 weeks after court - meaning April 7 or April 14 (our agency has embassy appointments on a Monday). We waited and waited for news. After a number of discussions with our agency, I finally decided I needed to get our tickets, and since we're staying an extra bit of time in country, it would overlap either possible date, but be centered around the idea of having a later embassy date. Well, shortly after getting our tickets, we found out our embassy date would actually probably need to be on April 21. Yeah, lovely. Another week of just leaving Ezra & Olivia without their mommy and daddy. Soooo not something easy to think about. But, to make matters worse, we also have a really difficult family matter we're dealing with that makes it all the more important to us to be home sooner than later. Sorry... can't blog about it, but I appreciate the support I know you're all feeling anyway! ;-)
Soooooooooo, it's boiling down to giving up and going with the April 21 embassy date, or potentially just leaving for Ethiopia early Saturday morning and hoping, praying, crossing fingers and toes for the best. Worst case scenario we'd be with the kids, but have to spend an extra week in country. Not the best or most affordable option... but we'd all be together and that's super important to us. Just to keep you all REALLY in the loop, as of about an hour ago, hubby and I "pretty much" decided we'll leave Saturday. We just need to work out some kinks with work (you know... gotta earn a living and figure out how to wiggle in an extra unpaid week or something), then we can commit. Maybe we're nuts, who knows. At this stage in the process, that's completely possible. Heck, after this roller coaster ride waiting for an embassy date, I'd say it's highly probable! :-D
Stay tuned... and keep on praying, crossing toes, fingers, arms, legs, and ears, doing the April 14 embassy date dance... whatever you can! We reallllllllyyyyy appreciate it!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Waiting for travel dates confirmation, still...
Just a quick post to let all of you still patiently waiting with us know that we still don't have confirmation on our travel dates. We're expecting to hear something today or tomorrow, and hopefully that proves true. At this point, we've begun packing, and are hoping to wrap that up tonight... or maybe tomorrow. I've been filling out immigration forms for our embassy appointment, and get quite a laugh when filling out forms for Tewodros & Yodit (who are only 3 months old!) that ask about their employment, schooling, and spouses! I don't know what to put in many of the sections, so I have lots of blank areas left. Hopefully the lawyer will help us get that all figured out when we arrive in Ethiopia.
So... here's to a Saturday departure! We have the tickets, and a guest house booked... so we just need the official go ahead. The concern from our agency is that it may end up needing to be another week beyond the maximum we were told... so that's what the hold up is. Joe and I are starting to feel VERY strongly about getting to our beautiful babes, so even if our embassy date IS delayed a week, we may travel on this weekend and at least be together as a family while we wait! For those of you still reading this... please cross you fingers, say a prayer, do an April 14th embassy date dance, or whatever it is you can do! COME ON APRIL 14TH EMBASSY DATE!!!
On a side note, yesterday we got to pick up our car seats from our wonderful friends, Geoff & Val. Their very sharing twin boys have decided they will allow Olivia & Ezra to now use their infant car seats. As we said our goodbyes and began driving away, it was weird to think that was quite possibly our last visit with them as just "Jesi & Joe." From here on out when we see them, we SHOULD have E & O in tow. While all the waiting for an official date to travel begins to make this all feel unreal... and like it will never happen... that moment was etched into my mind forever. I still get chills when I look at Olivia & Ezra's pictures and realize that they WILL be in our arms very soon.
Back to work. Back to my LAST week of work before mommyhood! (Notice my positive reinforcement of our upcoming April 5 departure there?!) This WILL be the last week in the US without our babies!
So... here's to a Saturday departure! We have the tickets, and a guest house booked... so we just need the official go ahead. The concern from our agency is that it may end up needing to be another week beyond the maximum we were told... so that's what the hold up is. Joe and I are starting to feel VERY strongly about getting to our beautiful babes, so even if our embassy date IS delayed a week, we may travel on this weekend and at least be together as a family while we wait! For those of you still reading this... please cross you fingers, say a prayer, do an April 14th embassy date dance, or whatever it is you can do! COME ON APRIL 14TH EMBASSY DATE!!!
On a side note, yesterday we got to pick up our car seats from our wonderful friends, Geoff & Val. Their very sharing twin boys have decided they will allow Olivia & Ezra to now use their infant car seats. As we said our goodbyes and began driving away, it was weird to think that was quite possibly our last visit with them as just "Jesi & Joe." From here on out when we see them, we SHOULD have E & O in tow. While all the waiting for an official date to travel begins to make this all feel unreal... and like it will never happen... that moment was etched into my mind forever. I still get chills when I look at Olivia & Ezra's pictures and realize that they WILL be in our arms very soon.
Back to work. Back to my LAST week of work before mommyhood! (Notice my positive reinforcement of our upcoming April 5 departure there?!) This WILL be the last week in the US without our babies!
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