I wanted to put up a quick post tonight to say that we got home as scheduled, and things are going really well.

I am absolutely exhausted…I am not sure if it is because the trip was so long, or because it was so stressful or what, but I am really, truly wiped out in a way I don’t ever remember being before. I am dizzy and don’t have an appetite and am SO dang tired… so the real “write-up” of our homecoming is going to have to wait another day or two.

But, in a nutshell…the trip was long and grueling (as expected). Belane did really, really well. We just barely made one of the connections, but got home as scheduled to a very excited waiting family. The documentary ladies were... more

Note-I wrote this before I left and post dated it to post today on the blog. I will update once we are really home how everything is going. :)

I also wanted to share a post on my reflections of just being in Africa again.

Even though I had been in a third world country, my trip to Addis in February hit me hard…it really made me reflect on my life and my priorities and all that I have been blessed with.

This time I was prepared for what we’d see…the poverty, the suffering, the complete lack of almost everything…the pollution, the traffic, the crowds, the begging…the beautiful people, the amazing sites, the heart breaking scenes…

And yet I was still caught off... more

While I am still here in Ethiopia, and everything is fresh in my mind and I am not being pulled away from writing by laundry or dishes or the other things I “should” do once the kids are in bed for the night, I want to share some of my feelings from this trip.

Do you know when you have a long wait for something…and you imagine it and build it up in your mind over and over…and then it finally happens and you realize that “reality” didn’t live up to what you had conjured up in your head?

Well, that didn’t happen for me.

I had eight long months from the day I met Belane until I held her in my arms again…eight months to think about her, imagine our reunion and be amazed... more

I AM HOLDING BELANE'S PASSPORT AND VISA!!!!!!!!!!

I can finally relax and be excited and BELIEVE that we are GOING HOME. :)

Is there a better word in all the world?

The waiver arrived late in the day yesterday...we got a call early this morning, and Belane and I just got back from the Embassy where we got her visa and immigration papers. I cried when she handed them to me, it was such a relief. I can bring my sweet girl home.

And even better news...Belane got an IR-3 visa, which means the second that plane lands in Washington D.C., she will officially be a U.S. citizen. She got that type of visa because we submitted proof that we met her in February, and spent... more

Here is a picture for you…I had it emailed to me today by my sweet friend Keely, so that is why I have it on my computer. In the picture from left to right are Denise (the AAI volunteer with the awesome blog), Belane and I, Josh (mine), Tesfaye (the famed CHSFS driver and our dear friend), Keely (adoptive mom who is also staying here in Addis for awhile), Josh (Keely’s hubby) and Nate, the volunteer coordinator for AAI, and an all around awesome guy. This picture was taken after a dinner we all had at the Hilton.

And here is the update…... more

The officer at the Department of Homeland Security in Nairobi Kenya lied to officials in Washington DC regarding our waiver. She said it was approved on Friday and mailed on Monday. It was not.

We just got a tracking number, and found that the waiver was only mailed tonight, after she was pushed by other immigration personnel for a tracking number.

So we have no hope for tomorrow (no flight either)...and we're praying that somehow DHL can get it here by Friday before noon so I can fork out $1500 and get on our way home...otherwise...otherwise is too rotten to talk about right now.

That is the sound I am making after an entire day of sitting by the phone, suitcases packed, full of hope and happiness, that slowly drained away throughout the day as we came to the realization that the waiver did not arrive today.

We even, at the suggestion of our agency rep, made a trip to the Embassy to ensure that it did not arrive...that was a waste of time and energy.

Everyone...from the DHL woman downstairs, to the Embassy, to our agency rep, said it SHOULD have arrived today. Yes...thank you... I know. I am kicking myself for getting my hopes up, and really starting to feel a bit cursed in this whole mess. So now we are back to sitting and waiting and wondering...

I... more

What a long and emotional day today was. Let me start from the end, and then I’ll tell it in order (it’s less painful that way). We just heard that our waiver is finally, DONE. It was done on Friday. (We know this thanks to our Senator’s office, who got Immigration in Washington DC involved…). There was no outgoing mail on Friday, so it went out first thing Monday morning. We’re hoping and praying that it arrives in the morning, so we can make the flight tomorrow evening.

If we miss tomorrow night’s flight, we can fork out $1500 to upgrade to business class for the Friday flight. I am not waiting any longer than I have to to go home, so if that it our only option, that is what we’ll... more

I’m not much in the mood to blog tonight, but here goes.

Last night turned out to be nice. One of the families staying here needed help with their kids, so I volunteered. They have the mom and sixteen year old twins here along with their two new Ethiopian children who are 3 and 6 years old. The mom had to go to the airport last night to get her husband, who was joining them for the second week of their stay, and didn’t want to take the kids.

It was their first night in this hotel, so she wanted me to help the older girls get dinner ordered, get the kids fed, etc. Their two new kiddos were going bonkers in the hotel room at first…pushing buttons, flipping switches, jumping on... more

Well, it’s Sunday and it’s been sort of a yucky day. I had a dream last night that I was home, and it was Monday, and we had made it home in time for Halloween. I was having so much for carving pumpkins with the kids and was just ecstatic that Belane was home.

And then I woke up…still here.

I just miss the rest of my family today. I have been reading other blogs to entertain myself when Belane is sleeping, and I had to stop, because hearing about all my friends taking their kids to Halloween parties, and carving pumpkins and making caramel apples just got to be too much. I hope that Josh and my aunt are having fun with the kids…

Belane and I spent an entire hour sitting... more